Envelope



Dec. 18, 1923.

N; PAPPARODIS ENVELOPE Filed March 18. 1922 Patented Dec. 13, 1&23.

UNETE STAS that NICK EAPPARODIS, F BEAVERFALLS, PENNSYLVANIA.

ENVELOPE.

Application filed March is, 1922. Serial 1%. 544,825.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, NICK PAPPARODIS, a subject of the King of Greece, residing at Beaver Falls, in the county of Beaver and 9 State of Pennsylvania, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Envelopes, of which the following is a specification.

The present invention relates to improvements in envelopes, although the invention will find equal application to paper boxes or to containers generally made of paper or light material, in which the use of glue, paste or other adhesive now generally employed to seal the envelope flap is dispensed with and the various flaps of the envelope are securely closed so as to prevent unauthorized inspection or removal of the contents and to avoid the opening of the are the same and plainly showing the fact that the mail matter has been tampered with.

It is an object of the invention to secure a permanently locked inclosure for P mail matter and the like whereby such matter may be transported in the mails with safety and may be used for the transport of'first class matter without requiring an adhesive flap to be moistened, thus avoiding the annoyance and inconvenience incident to the sealing of such flaps, but on the other hand the invention permits in a simple and inexpensive paper structure of the closing and the effectual locking of the flaps and the mail matter contained therein in a quick and convenient manner, and the invention further will allow of the opening of the inclosure by the authorized addressee in a much quicker manner attended with less. inconvenience than the present envelopes.

With the foregoing and other objects in view, the invention will be more fully described hereinaftenand will be more particularly pointed out in the claim appended hereto.

In the drawings, wherein like symbols envelope or container without mutilating refer to like or corresponding parts throughout the several views,

Fig. 1 is a plan View of the blank from which one form of the invention ismade;

Fig. 2 is a reverse face view of this onvelope closed; i

Fig. 3 is a plan view of a slightly modified form of blank;

Fig. 41 shows this blank closed in envelope form;

Fig. 5 is a cross section taken on the line 55 in Fig. 1;

Fig. 6 is a fragmentary perspective view showing the manner of inserting a tongue within one of the improved slots; and,

Fig. 7 shows a slightly modified form of blank over Fig. 3.

Referring more particularly to the drawat ings, and for the present to Figs. 1 and 2 thereof, 1 designates the body portion of an envelope having the lateral flaps 2 and 3 and the end flaps 4 and 5 all made out of the same blank and from a sheet of appro- 7c priate paper or other flexible material admitting of the lateral flaps being bent upon lines of fiexure indicated at 6 and 7 and the end flaps upon lines of flexure 8 and 9 to enable the device to assume the closed pot5 sition shown in Fig. 2.

The lateral flaps 2 and 3 are firstfolded over upon the body 1 and thereafter the lower end flap 5 is bent upon its line of fleXure 9. Lastly, the opposite end flap 4: B0 is folded over upon the line 8. The lateral flaps 2 and 3 are provided with diagonal lower edges 10 and 11 which are the result of removing lower portions of these flaps, the diagonal lines conforming substantially but not identically with the lower edges of the bottom flap 5. The end flaps 4 and 5 are substantially triangular and the edges of the flap 5 overlap to a suitable extent the edges 10 and 11 of the lateral flaps.

The flaps 2 and 3 and in the lower flap 5 are produced slots 12, 13 and 14 for receiving respectively, tongues 15, 16 and 17. The tongue 15 is produced upon the apex of the apex point of this flap. They are thus caused to extend on diagonal lines and'are positioned to be receivedinto the slots 13 and 14 when the envelope is assembled as indicated in Fig. 2. Now each of the tongues is provided with a T-head ;;made :up of lateral Pears 518 Land 119 which are adapted to be folded over above or beneath the end portion of the tongue as indicated in Fig. 7, just prior to inserting the tongues 'in'the slots. The outer corners of the ears .are also preferably cut oif as indicated at 20 to better serve in the insertion :of 113116 tongues and in the holding of them in place later.

:Each v5931.01 is made with a straight wall- 21 next the tongue WhlCh7lS1tOJfititheI6.

into andnwithian opposite edge wall which conforms zto a compound [curve or :a subtantially :V shape having a central apex 22 which recedes farthest fromsthe straight edge :21 and is approximately centrally located with reference to :the :length of the slot From this apex irounded edge ;por-,

tions 23 and 24 extend in divergent relation until :the outer extremities thereof merge with the ends of the straight walls 21. There is vthus deft in the center of "the slot a relatively large .opening for the veasy insertion of a cornerrofvoneiofithe.tongues .15. This tongue is canted .as indicated .in :Fig. i6 .130 bring one corner portion ito .-approach the apex "22 where it will give the corner the greatest freedom and opportunity to enter the slot. iHaving once .caught the corner underithe:apex, the tongue is simply pushed sidewiselcausing its=side edge to ride along the {curved :edge portion '24. Due to the curvature (of this portion toward :the opposite straight wall'2l, the tongue will enter deeper .iiitothe slot or rather :the sides of the :slot will envelope :more of the corner portion -of the tongue and thus make the engagement more secure :as the action progresses. This-curved wall will also induce an easy sliding of the :tongue thereacross and into :place, and having arrived at the end of the slot,-th e opposite corner of the tongue is readily inserted beneath the other curved edge portion The curvature causes the central part of the portions 23 and 24 to bulge out so that a cornerof the tongue may be readily inserted therebeneath.

After-*the tongue is securely-engaged within the slot and pushed home therein, the ears 18'and 19 maybe opened so as to look the same in place. The flat character of the envelope or containerwill insure that these cars remain in the open position and against escapefrom theslot. The envelopes may-be assembled for sale with the tongues 16 and 17 already engaged with the flaps Referring to "Figs. 3 and 4, the device Iherein shown consists of a body portion 25 -having lateral flaps 26 and 27 a lower end flap 28 :andraniupper end flap 29 all foldable upon the body asin the former case. In this instance, the lateralafiaps."are-substantially athessanie. size as 1 the body portion and zthey 'overlap to ia 'great extent when folded. Both lateral flaps and 'the'zlower end flap 128'are :all provided with slots as shown which register .when .folded. A T+headed tongue 30, projecting outwardly from the upper end flap 29, is adapted to engage sthrough all ithree of the slots and thus hold the device locked, the T head being spread out upon the innermost portionrofitheenvelope, as indicated 'in .F ig. '5.

In Fig.7 isshown, a yenysimilar form of :envelope with parts similarly numbered, but in this instance, the 'slots 31 are made with straight sides. 7 v

in view of the foregoing,:it will be appreciated that I have produced an extremely simple and inexpensive envelope in whichthe use of an adhesive flap isentirely done away with without however making it more difiicult to close the flap or :flapsand iwithout rendering the-enclosure more capable of -being tampered with.

It is obvious that various changes and modifications may be made in the details of construction and design of the above specifically described embodiment of this invention withoutdeparting from the spirit thereof, such changesand modifications being :res tricted only by the scope of the following ;claim What is claimed is:

An envelope having a body portion and a number of flaps extending'therefrom and adapted to be folded over upon the body portion and iii overlapping relation to provide 'anenclosure, one flap having a tongue thereon and another flap having a slot adapted to :receive the tongueysaid tongue being substantially of the same width: as the length :of the slotfand being substantially rectangular at'its end, said slot having .an inner straight wall and having in its outer wall a substantially V-shaped opening intermediate the ends of the slot, the opposite edges of said opening flaring and being rounded toward the straight wall and merging into the slot at the opposite ends thereof, whereby upon engagement of a corner of the tongue in said opening against any part of said curved edges and upon the lateral shifting of the tongue the sides of the slot will envelope more of the corner portion of the tongue as the shifting end of the slot.

In testimony whereof I affix my signature.

NICK PAPPARODIS. 

